


The Scent Of You

by AsagiStilinski



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Arguing, Atem harem, Humor, M/M, Obsession, Obsessive Behavior, Polyamory, Pre-Poly, Scent Kink, Scents & Smells, Yami Yuugi | Atem has his own body
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-13
Updated: 2019-05-13
Packaged: 2020-03-04 20:25:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18820078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AsagiStilinski/pseuds/AsagiStilinski
Summary: The occult shop gets a new incense in called "Egyptian Musk"The three men who love Atem all want some of it





	The Scent Of You

**Author's Note:**

> For Prompt Monday- "Scent" <3 I found an incense at my uncle's New Age shop called "Egyptian Musk" and this was all I could think of xD It doesn't smell... *great*... but to be fair I'm not generally a fan of musky smells anyway so that's probably subjective
> 
> I also want to go on record that this is sort of more of an Atem harem fic than it is a true poly fic, I know that and I promise my other poly fics aren't like this, this one was just uh... special I guess? xD I did try to put in hints that they were interested in eachother too though, even if they were very minor
> 
> Songs are "Me!" by Taylor Swift and "Issues" by Julia Micheals

After graduation, Ryou had started working in an occult store

Yugi was _incredibly_ glad for this

Not only did it make Ryou happy, but it also had introduced Yugi to the store in the first place

Now, three months later, Yugi was a regular customer there

He couldn't say that anything really made the mourning easier, particularly after the... _incident_..... with Kaiba and the puzzle, wich had stirred up the feelings Yugi had been trying so hard to let go of, but it helped a little, it made him feel like he was still connected to Atem, still honoring him in some way

The occult store was packed with everything related to not only the occult, but paganism, New Age, religious practices, and the spiritual and supernatural worlds

It could be very overwelming in the beginning, simply due to the sheer amount of it all, but Yugi had gotten used to it quickly and now he could find his way around the place without any trouble

The moment he stepped into the place, intent on getting some more amethyst to help him sleep, he was practically nocked down by the smell that hit him

It was incense, clearly- wich in it's self wasn't unusual, the store always had incense burning, in fact it used to give him a headache- but this incense was unlike any he had ever smelled before

It was a very heavy scent, not subtle like what Ryou usually burned, but rather.... thick

It smelled like spices and burning wood, a touch of fresh evening rain with just a hint of something sweeter like some kind of fruit, and something.... _musky_ that he couldn't quite identify, almost like some sort of animal's natural scent, like ... a fox or a wolf or something...

"Oh, hello Yugi, what brings you in today?"

Snapped out of his silence, Yugi forced a smile and turned to face Ryou

"I came in to get another crystal... ah, may I ask what's burning?"

The very question seemed to brighten the other man's mood, his eyes practically lighting up

"Do you like it? It's new, it's called Egyptian Musk,"

Yugi's immediate thought was somewhere along the lines of _"You've got to be fucking kidding me"_ , but figuring that wouldn't be very polite, he decided not to let that slip

"That's.... wow, where on earth did you find that?"

"Oh I didn't, Yuri does all of the ordering so I'm not sure where he got it from,"

Ah, that made sense, Ryou had only been working there for a few months, ofcourse he wouldn't have a say in inventory....

"We just got it in today and I had to light some immediately, I really like it, it smells kind of... familiar, don't you think?"

That was putting it mildly

"Yeah," Yugi concluded quietly

"I suppose it does,"

Noicing the distance in his freind's voice, Ryou's features softened, and he reached out, gently placing a hand on Yugi's shoulder

"Would you like some Yugi? All incense is buy-two-get-one-free,"

Yugi didn't really light incense as a rule, he was really more of a candle person, but how could he refuse the idea of having this scent in his house?

It reminded him so much of Atem, of that breif time when he was able to interact with the pharaoh in his memories, able to _touch_ him, feel the rumble of his deep voice when he spoke, like the purr of a lion, watch his chest rise and fall with each breath, inhale his scent.. wich was not quite _this_ but... but it was _close_ wasn't it?

"Yugi?"

Jumping slightly, Yugi smiled again and nodded eagerly

"I'd love some, thank you,"

"Ofcourse! Come on then, I'll show you where it is, then I can help you find a good crystal, what were you looking for?"

"More amethyst, a bigger peice this time, not something to put under my pillow,"

"Ah, the stone isn't working then?" Ryou asked with a bit of disappointment, removing his hand from Yugi's shoulder and leading im towards the back of the store where they kept herbs, incense, and candles

"Not as well as I'd have liked, it _helps_ , but it just isn't enough, do you think if I have a bigger one next to my bed it'll help more?"

"It certainly could but I'm not entirely sure if that's what would be best or if you should try something else... have you thought about getting a salt lamp? They're very soothing and the light of them is quite low and atmospheric, I use mine as a nightlight,"

"I've thought about it," Yugi mused as they walked, edging around shelves and book cases and tables

"I've heard they're hard to maintain though, don't they have a tendency to melt?"

"If you don't keep your house at a constant temperature then they can start to get sticky and a bit melty yes, it isn't a problem for me as I like keeping my house cold but if you like warmer temperatures then I can see how you may have issues with them,"

Yugi, who had a tendency to get cold by nature, certainly wasn't interested in keeping his house any colder than it already was, especially once the weather outside started getting colder as well

"Sounds like a bit too much work for me, why do you like keeping your house cold?" he asked curiously, peering over Ryou's shoulder as his freind came to a stop in front of a small wooden case, full of various colored boxes, long and slender, likely holding incense

"It reminds me of the chill in the air that comes from having spirits nearby, ofcourse," Ryou smiled back, as if that were a completely normal response

"Ha..." Yugi laughed nervously, watching as Ryou drew out a few boxes from the case

"That's.... clever,"

He couldn't quite relate though, Atem's presence had always felt incredibly warm to him, it didn't bring a chill at all

Ofcourse no one said that Ryou had been referencing the spirit of the ring, Ryou had always been a big fan of ghosts and even now regularly played with oujia boards- much to Yugi's absolute horror

But still, he certainly wondered....

"Anyway, here's the incense, I personally wouldn't reccomend lighting more than one or maybe two at a time as the scent is quite strong and can become overwelming very quickly, especially in a smaller space,"

"Right, got it," Yugi nodded quickly, his eyes skimming down the length of the boxes

They were dark red with hieroglyphics printed on them and a frontal image of Anubis' face in the center, obviously the people who manufactured these things were just trying to cash in on the ancient Egyptian aesthetic with no real connection to ancient Egypt - or even modern Egypt- at all, but he couldn't say that surprised him, it was pretty par for the course

And considering it was called "Egyptian musk" he wasn't exactly expecting the most appropriate product to begin with

He glanced away, putting the pictures on the box out of his mind, and took a step forward to follow Ryou away, when something else caught his eye

" _Dragon's Blood_...?" he read aloud, head tilting as he stared at the case full of incense

"Oh, yes, but I wouldn't reccomend that one, it's rather pungent and I don't care for the scent much,"

With a nod, Yugi found himself scanning the other shelves as well, finding far less exotic scents like lotus, Jasmine, sage, frankincense- ... chocolate...?

"Chocolate?"

"Oh yes, I'm sure you've noticed that we have quite a large variety, and not all is traditional,"

Curiously, he took one of the boxes and opened it, inhaling deeply but ultimately smelling nothing

"Huh, I can't smell it..."

"Not unusual, that one is rather subtle, it's more noticeable when you light it,"

"Oh..."

For now he was going to stick with the musk, he didn't even know if he would manage to get through having this lit without getting a headache from it, but the chocolate was good to keep in mind for a later occassion if he ever got tired of the musk

"Thanks Ryou, um, where were the crystals again?"

"Oh! Right this way!"

He needed to concentrate on this, he knew, but he couldn't quite shake the feeling of excitement that was crawling through his veins now that he had this incense

He couldn't wait to get home and try it out

 

~+~

 

" _I promise that you'll never find another like mee-ee-eeeee, oooohhh, I'm the only one of me, baby that's the fun of me,_ "

Not many would peg Joey as a Taylor Swift fan, and he had publicly denied being one for the last ten years

But he felt reasonably confident that no one else was currently around to hear him

Clearing his throat as he approached the door to his best freind's house, he reluctantly paused the song and pulled his earbuds out, setting it all in his pocket and entering the game shop

"Yo Yug!! You 'round here?"

No answer, that was weird...

Maybe he and his grandfather were unboxing things in the back,that happened sometimes, and there was rarely another excuse for why no one was in the front

"Yug?" he repeated, head tilting as he stepped closer to the counter

It was only at this point that he started noticing a weird scent permeating the shop

It smelled kind of like spices and ... some sort of water? Like a misty forest maybe? Plus kind of like .... not saw dust exactly but .. a bonfire maybe? And something denser and warmer, like.... a dog's head, that salty kinda popcorn-dorito type of smell, and just the tiniest hint of something sweeter too, almost like honey...

"Oh hey Joey, come to see the new Red Eyes statuette we got in?"

Jerked suddenly out of his trance, he gave a quick nod, grinning shyly

"Yeah, came to drool all over the expensive peice o' crap I can never afford,"

"As long as you don't get it wet, that's all we ask," Yugi teased, waving him along

Apparently they had been in the back after all, Yugi wasn't kidding when he said they _just_ got it in, the mail must have been late

The further they moved, the more that scent invaded Joey's senses, and by the time they were in the back room and Yugi was moving towards the box that assumedly held the statue, Joey finally couldn't take it anymore

"Yug, what in the hell is that smell?"

"Hm? Oh, you mean the incense?"

"I guess so yeah,"

"It's called Egyptian Musk, it's um... it's new, I thought it smelled nice so I ... just decided to light some for the shop,"

Huh... why was Yugi getting embarrassed?

Did it have something to do with the name?

"Do you like it?" the smaller duelist asked belatedly

"Eh... it ain't bad.... never really been a fan o' incense though,"

"I wasn't either until this," Yugi smiled shyly, clearing his throat and taking the lid off of the box, very carefully lifting the statue out so that he could show it to his freind

Joey was trying to concentrate on the statue, really he was, but ... he just couldn't

His mind kept drifting back to the incense

He couldn't get it out of his head and he didn't know why...

He left the shop feeling weirdly distant and frustrated, depressed for a reason he couldn't quite understand and annoyed at himself for how he was acting

Maybe he needed more sleep

Yeah... that must be it

 

~+~

 

Seto was having a **BAD. DAY.**

He had gone over the same fucking details to the same fucking code atleast four times and he was honestly ready to rip his eyes out just so he didn't have to look at one more line of code ever again for the rest of his life

Fuck he hated computers, why did he _ever_ decide this was going to be his eternal job!?

He didn't want to be screwing around with this shit in the first place, he just wanted to work on his plan to get Atem back

He wanted to work on getting Atem back, lose himself in the work and the fantasy of living out the rest of his days with his rival here by his side and _alive_....

And maybe watch some Killing Eve because nothing channeled his angry energy like a Russian lesbian assassin trying to charm her crush, something about the obsessive cat and mouse game spoke to him on a level he didn't quite understand, as if it were familiar somehow....

Oh well, that aside, he was so over the coding that he was about to start shaking from it, he felt sick to his stomach and his eyes were burning

Ofcourse that could also be due to the fact that he hadn't eaten in nine hours and even that had just been an apple and a cup of coffee but still

He was almost done.... he was so... so close.... just one more line... one more line aaaand.....

Done

"I'm done..... I'M DONE!!!" he screamed, more to himself than anyone else

Rubbing his eyes in exhaustion, he pushed his chair away from his desk and leaned back, staring up at the ceiling and sighing quietly as little dots danced before his vision

...

Right, time for coffee, then his master plan to bring Atem back from the dead

Technically he could just make an assistant go get the coffee for him, but for once he really wanted to get out of the office and be outside, he had been cooped up for too long and he had a feeling that if he didn't see actual sunlight soon he might drive himself blind, wich wouldn't be good for anyone

So he saved his work and hurried out of the office, deciding he would even walk to work out some of the nervous energy he was feeling

The coffee shop was pretty close by, he'd just run in, get his coffee, then go back to the lab, pop on BBC1 and get back to his plans to bring Atem back from the dead

Sounded like a perfect idea to him

He was tired though, that was the problem- and the reason for coffee

He was tired and now that the code was done for his web modification it was really starting to hit him, so, to keep himself from falling asleep in the middle of a step, he put his earbuds in and turned on some music as he walked

There was just one little problem

Half-way through "Ocean Eyes", Seto was suddenly hit by a strange scent...

It was like an assortment of spices, mixed with a warm winter fire, the smell of a fresh shower mixed with a slight sweetness, like baked goods, and something warmer and stronger, like a sort of... musk.... sort of how he imagined a lion might smell like

He recognized that scent immediately

It didn't smell _exactly_ like Atem, in truth, it wasn't all that close, but there was still something there, something similar that he couldn't quite explain....

And when he looked up at the person carrying this strange but magnificent aroma, it was none other than- fucking Joey Wheeler....

Now thoroughly pissed, he tore his earbuds out of his ears and stomped towards the blonde, who was lost in whatever song he was listening to, and grabbed him on the shoulder, making the other duelist scream and give a startled jump

"FUCK Kaiba! What're ya' tryin'a'do!? Kill a guy!?"

"What are you wearing?"

He wasn't even in the mood to make a sarcastic comment about killing him- huh, that was a rare treat

"Um.... 'scuse me....?"

"Your scent, what are you wearing? Perfume? Cologne? Did you roll around in a zoo? What?"

Joey looked entirely confused for a moment before taking the collar of his shirt and sniffing at it- great, really magnificent manners there

"Oh huh.... guess that's Yug's new incense..."

"Come again?"

"Yugi, he's got a new incense in the shop, I just came from there, it's uh.... Egyptian Muskrat or somethin' like that...."

Seto was _entirely_ sure that that name was wrong, but luckily, he didn't need the entire name, he had a good idea of what the blonde meant, and he knew where Yugi was most likely to have gotten some exotic incense from- Ryou Bakura

With a curt nod he hurried off towards the workplace of the significantly less annoying Bakura, intent on getting his hands on the incense that gave him just the tiniest taste of Atem once more

 

~+~

 

Ryou, in the mean time, was just minding his own business, innocently sweeping up the shop, when all of a sudden, like a hurricane blowing into the store, Seto Kaiba stormed in, slapped a debit card on the counter, and stared him down the way he imagined a hungry lion might stare down a weak and defenseless antelope

"I want all of your Egyptian incense- _now_ ,"

Only a crazy person would argue with that and Ryou was not, despite some gossip, actually a crazy person

Seto walked out with an entire crate full and he considered the mental trauma he may have just instilled upon the poor occultist to be entirely worth it

 

~+~

 

Yugi was kind of miserable

Just because he liked the incense, it by no means meant that he was somehow relieved of the terrible allergies he got from it

Currently he was in one of those allergy dazes where he could feel his heart beating his eyes were watering so much he was almost vision-impaired, and he couldn't seem to end sentences without a "d"

Oh well, he'd get some allergy medicine and hopefully be done with it and back to atleast being decent...

Pinching the bridge of his nose tiredly, he realized after several long moments of staring at the shelf that he was, in fact, in the wrong place, and turned quickly to leave, only to run into something rather large and solid and suddenly jerk his head up, mouth opening slightly as he stared up at the man he had run into

"Kaiba! What are you doing here?" he asked in surprise

"Shopping," the CEO answered flatly

"Oh... you know it's funny, I always thought you just had someone else do your shopping for you,"

"I usually do, this was a very particular occasion,"

Yugi sort of wanted to ask what he meant by that, but he didn't get the chance, he was too busy sneezing and groaning in misery

"Allergy medicine?" Seto guessed, one eyebrow raised thinly

"Y-Yeah... and headache medicine," he mumbled back, rubbing his eyes miserably

Seto wasted no time, heading over to the next aisle and expecting Yugi to follow

"O-Oh... thank you Kaiba..."

Seto only gave a curt hum of acknowledgement, watching in disinterest as Yugi started searching for the correct medicine

"What happened to your finger?" he asked absently, noticing the Duel Monsters bandaid wrapped around the tip of his index finger

"Huh?" the smaller duelist mumbled, glancing down at his finger as well, as if having forgotten that it had been bandaged in the first place

"Oh, I was opening boxes the idea and cut myself, I managed to avoid the box cutter but the cardboard it's self got me," he noted with a peacefull smile, turning his attention back to the shelf in front of him and searching silently for the right bottle

"You should really be more carefull,"

Ofcourse, it figures that it would be on the top shel- wait a minute, did Seto Kaiba just express concern for him?

He blinked, mouth slightly open in sheer amazement as he stared up at him

"U-Um.... I'll... try....?"

"Wich bottle is it?"

Bottle of what? Bottle of pills?

"Um.. Xeratyn, 48 count," because he really doubted he was just going to stop lighting that incense any time soon

Seto only nodded, picking up a box and handing it to the smaller duelist

"O-Oh um... thank you Kaiba..." he said quietly, bending down to pick up a box of headache medicine too

"You know, if you're having trouble with your sinuses, you should consider a hot shower, the steam will help,"

"Ah, I'll keep that in mind, thank you," Yugi smiled softly

He knew most people wouldn't believe him, but he really had been noticing a change in Kaiba lately, he'd been getting.... _nicer_ , freindlier even

Maybe it was just to Yugi, but he wasn't the constantly biting, prickly soul that he used to be

He wondered absently if that had anything to do with Atem, with trying to get him back, or ... if it was just Kaiba finally starting to get used to Yugi after all these years.....

"You should get shampoo," Seto noted suddenly, much to Yugi's surprise and confusion

"For the hot shower,"

"Oh, I think I have some at home," Yugi replied absently, setting the boxes of medicine in his shopping basket, he really should go on and pick up a few groceries wile he was here...

He glanced up, and noticed that the CEO was ... _staring_ at him

Well, it felt alot more like Kaiba was staring _through_ him but you know

".... Ofcourse it never hurts to be sure," Yugi said slowly, watching the other with mild concern as he turned and started towards the next aisle over to pick up the shampoo

He didn't waste much time after that in saying a quick farewell to his freind and heading to the grocery department, meaning that he missed the moment when Seto picked up a bottle of shampoo identical to the one Yugi had just gotten

 

~+~

 

After thinking it over for a couple of days, Joey finally decided to go to the occult store and get some incense himself

He just couldn't get it out of his head, he couldn't stop thinking about that scent

He had tried desperately to let go of Atem, to move on, just as he had encouraged Yugi to all this time, but ...

He missed Atem

He missed him more than he had ever missed anyone before- save for his sister, ofcourse

He had had a handle on it by keeping himself distracted and trying to put on a good face for Yugi, but it wasn't working anymore

Seeing Atem after Kaiba forced him to come back was enough of a weight on his mind, but now that he had that scent stuck in his nose all the time....

He had hoped that maybe if he lit some incense and prayed to Atem, he would feel better

He was hardly a religious person, really, and he wasn't sure how much he believed in this "the pharaoh is a living god" stuff that Yugi had seemed so enamored with, but it couldn't hurt to try, right?

There was just one little problem

When he went to the occult shop to get some....

"Yo Ryou,"

"Joey! Hello! I haven't seen you in here before, what brings you in?" Ryou asked cheerfully, setting down a box of .. something or other at the counter and stepping over to the blonde

"I'm here to get incense, Yug recommended this stuff, um.... Egyptian Masquerade or somethin' like that?"

Huh, weird, he hadn't expected Ryou's face to falter like that

"I believe you're referring to Egyptian musk... and I hate to tell you this Joey, but we were just bought out of it a couple of days ago, we've ordered more but it isn't here yet,"

"What?! Who the fuck could've bought you ou- ... ya' know what? Nevermind, I already know,"

_Seto **FUCKING** Kaiba_

__This was his fault and Joey _knew it__ _

__

__~+~_ _

__

_But you don't judge me_  
_'Cause if you did baby, I would judge you too_  
_No you don't judge me_  
_'Cause if you did baby, I would judge you too_  
_'Cause I got issues_  
_But you got 'em to-_

__"KAIBA!!"_ _

__Oh brilliant_ _

__An idiot has arrived_ _

__Slowly, Seto glanced up from his work, pulling his earbuds out and pausing the music so he could stare blankly at the angry blonde who had barged into his office_ _

__Hm, he'd have to remind Satomi not to let this one in just because he barks at the door..._ _

__"Wheeler,"_ _

__"I _KNEW IT_!"_ _

__"Well this should be easy for you to answer as you know so very little... so what _exactly_ did you know?" he asked casually, elbows on the desk, chin resting on his clasped hands, as he stared boredly at the other duelist_ _

__He didn't have time for all of this, really, he had to get his work finished so he could go back down to the lab for the day_ _

__Although last night he had made some magnificent progress in his efforts to bring Atem back from the dead so he was in a good enough mood_ _

__"That incense! Ya' bought out the entire fuckin' store!?"_ _

__"Yes, and to my knowledge, there was nothing illegal about that,"_ _

__"No, just greedy!"_ _

__Seto shrugged_ _

__He could take that insult and live with it_ _

__"Ya' couldn't even leave one box!?"_ _

__"I don't like going in that place unless absolutely necessary so I would like to limit the amount of times in a month I have to do such,"_ _

__"Oh yeah? An' what is it that's got your panties in such a fuckin' bunch about it huh?! Maybe all that positive energy is too much for the damn devil to be around without shrivlin' up an' dyin' like a dehydrated fish!?"_ _

__"Congratulations on knowing the word 'dehydrated' and using it correctly in a sentence, that must be quite the accomplishment for you,"_ _

__Wow, he was actually watching the blonde's face turn redder with anger_ _

__Well this was an unsung delight of the afternoon_ _

__"Look you fuckin' hellspawn, if you don't hand over atleast one box o' that incense right the fuck now, I'm gonna-!"_ _

__"You're going to _what_? They're _my_ boxes, _I_ bought them, you have no recourse,"_ _

__"My 'recourse' is gonna be my foot gettin' shoved so high up your ass that your tonsils-!"_ _

__" _Kaiba!!_ "_ _

__Oh that couldn't be good_ _

__Eyebrows raised, Seto turned his attention to glance right behind the third rate duelist, watching in mild surprise as Yugi rushed in, looking a bit more hurt than he did angry, and upset but clearly more composed than the _neanderthal_ that had been screaming at him moments earlier_ _

__"What can I do for you Yugi?"_ _

__"You bought ALL of the Egyptian Musk!? Are you serious!?"_ _

__Once again, Yugi was far less _angry_ than he was simply _bewildered_ , he seemed like he would have been _impressed_ if it weren't clearly an inconvenience to him_ _

__"Where are you two getting this information from?" Seto asked curiously_ _

__He had assumed that tattle-telling was above the considerably less intimidating Bakura, had he been wrong?_ _

__"It wasn't exactly hard to figure out," Yugi replied flatly_ _

__"Yeah, who else has an assload of money and an obsession with Atem?" Joey huffed in agreement_ _

__Honestly Seto wasn't even going to try denying that_ _

__"So what exactly are you here for, Yugi? Your mutt is clearly here to bark endlessly at the wind, but-"_ _

__"Kaiba, do you have to keep up with those dog jokes?" Yugi sighed tiredly, rubbing his eyes_ _

__"More or less," Seto shrugged back_ _

__"Look, I just wondered if I could buy a couple of boxes, I'm almost out and I don't think the occult shop will have more in by the time I run out completely,"_ _

__"Yug... didn't ya' have like.... sixty sticks o' that shit?" Joey asked slowly_ _

__"Yeah, why?"_ _

__"It's only been four days...?"_ _

__"What's your point?"_ _

__"Yug.... dude.... how much are you burnin' a day man...?"_ _

__Seto decided to take this opportunity to see if he could buy this stuff in bulk, Yugi did have a point about the store taking too long to restock it_ _

__However, much to his surprise and delight, when he started typing "Egyptian Musk" into Google, he found something utterly.... _amazing_ staring back in front of him_ _

___Egyptian Musk perfume_ _ _

__..._ _

___**THEY MADE PERFUME** _ _ _

__But according to this, there were several different brands, how did he choose wich one would be best? And how would he know if any of them would smell anything like Atem or if they were just those false scents that people stuck on products like "fresh linen" or "spring rain" that smelled like artificial fragrances and nothing actually similar to what they were _supposed_ to smell like..._ _

__"Look! Not everybody is a billionaire Kaiba!"_ _

__Oh, were they talking to him again?_ _

__"Multi-billionaire," he corrected, having heard nothing else besides the "billionaire" comment_ _

__"Even worse!" Joey huffed in irritation_ _

__"What's worse?" he didn't actually _care_ , but he figured maybe if he placated them for a wile they would shut up and leave_ _

__More accurately, they'd leave him alone with his very important perfume related decisions_ _

__The blonde rolled his eyes dramatically, stomping forward- wich, no, that was _not_ the effect Seto had intended to have- and placing a hand on Seto's shoulder_ _

__Just as the CEO was about to turn around and rip the other duelist's arm out of it's socket, Joey did something truly creepy- enough so to bring Seto to a pause- and leaned down to _smell his hair__ _

__Lovely_ _

__"Down boy," Seto hissed venomously, watching with _zero_ amusement as the blonde suddenly jerked away and pointed an accusatory finger at the CEO_ _

__"I knew it!! He's usin' your shampoo!!"_ _

__Oh shit_ _

__"What? What are you talking about?" Yugi frowned in confusion_ _

__"Kaiba is wearin' your fuckin' shampoo! Pomegranate papaya! Ya' think that's just some kinda coincidence!? He's stalkin' ya' an' tryin'a' roll 'imself around in all things Atem!!"_ _

__...._ _

__He wasn't exactly wrong_ _

__".. Is that true?" Yugi asked quietly_ _

__"We just happen to use the same shampoo, it's a nice scent, are you going to sue me over that?" Seto asked flatly_ _

__"Oh bullshit! Ya' never used that shit b'fore! Ya' usually use apple, then ya' got a wiff o' Yug an' decided to roll around in whatever smelled like Atem like some kinda dog!"_ _

__Narrowing his eyes, Seto spun around in his desk chair, legs crossed, arms over his chest, staring at Joey with a mostly neutral expression- save for the slight smirk dancing in his features_ _

__"And how exactly would you know what kind of shampoo I typically use?"_ _

__Joey paled, Seto chuckled_ _

___Gottcha_ _ _

__"I- ... why does it matter!?"_ _

__"Oh I see, you have a crush do you?"_ _

__"Bite me!"_ _

__"You'd like that,"_ _

__"Guys can we please stop?" Yugi sighed tiredly_ _

__"Yeah, what Yug said! This ain't about you an' me, this is about us an' Atem!"_ _

__"In what way?" Seto asked with a raised brow_ _

__"In the way that you're hoardin' his scent-sticks!!"_ _

__"Scent sticks?"_ _

__"You could afford to buy out that entire company, ya' don't gotta hoard all the boxes in Domino for yourself!"_ _

__That was true, he _could afford to buy the entire company, he could buy the company and then make them adjust the scent until it _really_ smelled like Atem and not just like a cheap imitation__ _

___He could even get them to produce the propper smelling perfume, maybe even other products like mouth wash and hair spray..._ _ _

___Maybe Atem-scented shampoo and conditioner......_ _ _

___"All we're askin' is for ya' to give us a couple o' boxes!!"_ _ _

___Oh right, they were still here_ _ _

___"Hm, no,"_ _ _

___Now back to the computer so he could contact this company and buy them out_ _ _

___"See? SEE?! He's fuckin' _obsessed_!! I told ya'!!"_ _ _

___"Says the man who knows what shampoo I use,"_ _ _

___"Not relevant!"_ _ _

___Peeking up from the lid of his laptop, Seto noticed that Yugi _was_ looking a little freaked out_ _ _

___..._ _ _

___Huh, he almost felt kind of guilty_ _ _

___..._ _ _

___Almost_ _ _

___"Look, can I just buy a box or two from you so I'm held over until the occult shop gets restocked? Please?" Yugi asked tiredly_ _ _

___Seto had sympathy for Yugi, really_ _ _

___He hadn't intended to take the incense from Yugi, he had just wanted to have alot for himself- there was a distinct difference there_ _ _

___"Sure," Seto finally relented, moving his chair back and opening a desk drawer_ _ _

___"I don't need your money, just keep it,"_ _ _

___"Thank you, Kaiba," Yugi sighed quietly, his shoulders sagging in what Seto assumed to be releif as the smaller duelist stepped forward and held his hand out for the boxes_ _ _

___"Listen... about the other day... you weren't just being nice to me because you wanted to know what shampoo I used... were you?" he asked quietly_ _ _

___Seto took the boxes out of his desk, handing them over and locking eyes with Yugi for a short moment_ _ _

___"No," he replied honestly_ _ _

___"It wasn't,"_ _ _

___Something about confessing that made Seto's face burn, and he wondered breifly if it caused his face to turn red like Yugi's was_ _ _

___"Ok, so can I have some now?" Joey asked, holding his hand out expectingly_ _ _

___Seto made a point of slamming the desk drawer shut at that_ _ _

___"No,"_ _ _

___"What!? Why not?!"_ _ _

___"Because you don't really need it, Yugi and I actually _miss_ Atem, last I checked you were doing _just fine_ without him,"_ _ _

___"Oh gimme a fuckin' BREAK you assmunch! You don't get to decide how somebody else feels! Nobody does but least o' all _you_!"_ _ _

___"And what do you mean 'least of all me'?" Seto hissed, spinning around to face him again_ _ _

___"If anything, Wheeler, it should be least of all _YOU_ , as you are quite literally the LEAST important relationship that Atem has in this room!"_ _ _

___"WHAT!?"_ _ _

___"You heard me! I am his eternal rival, he pledged an eternity to me, and Yugi is practically part of his _soul_ , who, by the way, he _also_ pledged eternity to, we are the ones with the real relationship to him here, you're barely a sidepeice,"_ _ _

___"SIDEPEICE!? I'll have ya' know that he pledged eternity to me too!"_ _ _

___That actually brought Seto to a moment of silence, genuine surprise on his face as he stared at the other man_ _ _

___"So Atem pledged eternity to all three of us then?"_ _ _

___"That's what it sounds like," Joey noted_ _ _

___"So.... when he pledged eternity to the two of you, did he make it sound almost like a-"_ _ _

___"Marriage proposal?" Yugi concluded_ _ _

___For a moment, there was silence, before-_ _ _

___"Hey Yug, did pharaohs have harems?"_ _ _

___"Oh Joey, I'm sure it isn't anything like that, I mean, _yes_ , but I'm sure it's nothing like that,"_ _ _

___"Really Yugi?" Seto asked blandly_ _ _

___"Are you _really_ sure?"_ _ _

___"I'm ... _pretty_ sure yes,"_ _ _

___"That ain't the same thing Yug," Joey noted, arms crossing over his chest_ _ _

___"...... So what we're saying here is that he abandoned all three of us," Seto concluded definitively_ _ _

___"Kaiba, please stop saying 'abandoned' as if he left a box of puppies at an animal shelter, we're grown men, we were not 'aban-"_ _ _

___"An' ya' ever notice that all three o' us also got issues with our dads? Like, I ain't sayin' there's a connection, more like a correlation, but-"_ _ _

___"Congrats on using the correct context of 'correlation',"_ _ _

___"Would ya' quit with that!?"_ _ _

___"Guys, can we please stop? I think it's pretty safe to say that we all love Atem and we all miss him, and he loves all of us, but this is getting rediculous," Yugi, ever the voice of reason, chimed in_ _ _

___"If he loved us why would he leave us?" Seto snipped irritably_ _ _

___"Um, 'cause he's literally in _Heaven_? LITERAL paradise? No offense but I'd dump all o' ya'll for that too,"_ _ _

___"Ok Jo, this is getting concerning-"_ _ _

___"You know I bet if we all stormed in there and dragged him back he'd have no choice but to come with us," Seto mused off-handedly_ _ _

___"What? We are not 'dragging' him anywhe-"_ _ _

___"Ya' think if we lived there with 'im we'd have to wear like... ecchi stuff? Ya' know, 'cause o' the harem thing?"_ _ _

___"What!? Joey there are about seven different ways in wich that question is _really_ wrong, you can't-"_ _ _

___"Yugi is right, he's a vessel and I'm practically his soulmate, you're still just the sidepeice, really not on our level," Seto noted_ _ _

___"What!? He didn't say that!! An' quit with the sidepeice thing! I'm as legitimate husband material as you two are!!"_ _ _

___"Husband material!?" Yugi squeaked_ _ _

___"Yeah maybe in another universe," Seto snorted_ _ _

___"Well atleast my soul is NEW, you're just a used up replica o' his cousin! Wich I'm _pretty sure_ is incest somewhere!"_ _ _

___"It is no such thing and I have no relation to that preist!" Seto snapped_ _ _

___"Guys-"_ _ _

___"Oh yeah? Then what's with the dragon fetish Kaiba? Here I thought it was some kinda past life memory but I guess you're just a furry,"_ _ _

___"Say that again you mongrel, I dare you!!"_ _ _

___"Ok, I will, Kai-!"_ _ _

____"ENOUGH!!!!"_ Yugi finally screamed_ _ _

___"Did it even occur to either of you how stupid it is that we're fighting over a box of wooden sticks that smell like Atem's crotch!?"_ _ _

___At that moment, and exactly that moment, there was a new person stepping into the office_ _ _

___And his name was Atem_ _ _

___"Ex-...cuse... me...?"_ _ _

___Yugi felt the most bizarre mixture of humiliation, dread, and releif that he had ever felt, and slowly, he turned around, his heart aching, tears coming to his eyes_ _ _

___It... it was really him_ _ _

___Atem was really there, in the flesh- quite literally_ _ _

___"Atem..." he breathed_ _ _

___And by some miracle, the other two had been stunned into silence_ _ _

___"I ... do hope that I wasn't interrupting anything...."_ _ _

___"Never!" Joey chimed in happily, racing away from Seto and throwing his arms around Atem in a tight bear hug, pulling a laugh from the pharaoh as he happily hugged back_ _ _

___"Ah, hello Joey!" he laughed pleasantly, leaning into the embrace with joy_ _ _

___"Oh 'Tem, dude, how are you even here?"_ _ _

___"Ah well... it's quite a long story but... since my last journey here, there has been such an influx of prayers to me... let's just say that I had a few epiphanies and .. after conversing with the gods and my court, I decided it would be best for me to return, to live a mortal life as I-mmmph!!"_ _ _

___Half-way through Atem's little speech, Seto had risen from his chair, marched over, shoved Joey out of the way, and grabbed Atem's face, tugging him into a rough, deep, passionate kiss, his grip nearly bruising as he wrapped an arm around Atem's waist and kept a few fingers of his opposite hand holding the pharaoh's face_ _ _

___Atem smirked against him, gently wrapping his arms around Seto's neck and lifting himself up on the tips of his toes, kissing him slowly in response, fingers tangled into his hair, nails gliding against his scalp, trying to calm him- and to his surprise and releif, it was actually working_ _ _

___Seto was slowly loosening his grip until it was more comfortable, lessening his force until it was more tolerable, and Atem was breathing through it just fine, lingering for a moment before forcing himself to pull away and smile up at the CEO_ _ _

___"Well hello to you too, _Seto_ ,"_ _ _

___Seto's face immediately flushed red, and Atem considered that payback for shoving Joey out of the way like he had_ _ _

___Gently, he stepped away from Seto, reaching out and gently taking Yugi's hand, pulling him closer and moving his free hand up to gently cup Yugi's face, leaning down to press their foreheads together and sighing softly in peace_ _ _

___"And hello to you, my partner,"_ _ _

___"You're here to stay?" Yugi wispered, his eyes full of tears, but he refused to let them fall, atleast... for now_ _ _

___"I am, Yugi, my aibou, I am here to stay,"_ _ _

___He leaned down, sealing that promise with a kiss, gentle and sweet, lacking the force that Seto had pushed against him, this one was far more innocent and chaste_ _ _

___It was too short though, far too short, as he pulled away, a playfull smirk resting on his face as he stared down at his partner_ _ _

___"Now... what was this about wooden sticks scented like my .. crotch...?"_ _ _

___"Y-Yes let's never mention that again, really," Yugi said quickly, clearing his throat, much to Atem's amusement_ _ _

___"That does remind me though, what _is_ that smell in here?"_ _ _

___"Don't ya' think it's kinda... familiar?" Joey asked slowly, taking a step forward and leaning down to give Atem a breif, shy kiss_ _ _

___Because he felt left out but wasn't quite confident enough to pull off what Seto had done yet_ _ _

___"Familiar? Well... no.... should it?"_ _ _

___With that said, Joey leaned down kissing Atem's cheek, and inhaling deeply_ _ _

___Huh... come to think of it.... he didn't smell like that incense at all_ _ _

___He smelled more like roses and clothes right from the dryer, like late summer rain and fresh baked bread, like steak seasoning and something primal that he couldn't put into words_ _ _

___No, not like the incense at all_ _ _

___Yugi was the next to notice, pulling Atem down for another kiss and inhaling, letting his fingers run through Atem's hair and noting that, in fact, he really didn't smell anything like hat incense_ _ _

___He smelled more like a meadow of flowers, and a late summer night, like morning dew in the spring and homemade cookies, like some unexplainable assorted spices and something ancient and ancestral that he couldn't really describe_ _ _

___Not anything like that incense_ _ _

___Finally, Seto came up to him, leaning down for another kiss of his own and inhaling as well, noting, just like the others, that he really didn't smell like that incense after all_ _ _

___He smelled more like a forest full of blooming trees, and a fire burning in mid-winter, like a waterfall and an assortment of baked goods, like rosemary and sea salt and pepper, and something predatory that he couldn't quite explain_ _ _

___Not like that incense after all_ _ _

___"Ok, I appreciate the warm reception, but are any of you going to tell me what all this sniffing is about?"_ _ _

___And for the first time since all of this arguing first began, the three of them were in firm agreement on something_ _ _

___"No,"_ _ _


End file.
